


What are we doing with our lives?

by overthebifrost



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff AU, Humor, Husbands, M/M, domestic AU, erwin and levi playing an online game, starring erwin smith as the concerned husband
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 05:22:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7832050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overthebifrost/pseuds/overthebifrost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Erwin, jump when I say, don't just randomly smash your jump button," said Levi, holding his head in his hands, "One, Two..."</p>
<p>Erwin attempts to help Levi when he becomes addicted to an online game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What are we doing with our lives?

**Author's Note:**

> Based on my own addictions to Lord of the Rings Online and Guild Wars 2.
> 
> I began writing this to try and heal my broken heart after The Chapter That Must Not Be Named. It started as just a humor piece but I added some domestic husband fluff.

   "Shiiiiiiit!" Screeched Levi.  
  
Erwin glanced over the top of his book, gazing across the room at his husband who was sat in front of the computer. His cursing had coincided with him smashing the keyboard with his fists and kicking the desk with socked feet. He looked so red in the face that Erwin was concerned he might do himself some damage.  
  
   "Levi-" Erwin began.  
  
  "I'm fine," said Levi instantly, sitting back up in his chair. With a few clicks of the mouse his face changed from one of anger and annoyance to intense concentration.  
  
Levi had been playing his favorite video game, _Lord of Titans_ , for several hours now. He usually clocked a fair amount of time on his computer each day, but due to it being a Saturday his gaming time had doubled. Erwin found himself becoming increasingly anxious about Levi's addiction to it, as well as missing the times when they would spend their evenings snuggled on the couch together, and although he didn't resent Levi for finding a hobby, after today's six hour marathon he began to worry about the physical strain it was having on his husband, who had already been complaining of an aching neck and back where he spent so much time hunched in front of the computer.  
  
   "Fuck, yes! Finally," said Levi, briefly raising his arms in victory. Erwin wasn't sure why Levi was celebrating, but he hoped that now would be a good time for a break.  
  
   "Levi, fancy going out for some dinner or something?" He asked, standing up from the couch and stretching his long limbs.  
  
   "Hm? Oh yeah sounds nice. Let me just turn my Gems in at the Reward Vendor," he answered. Erwin had no idea what on earth that meant or how long it would take, but decided to get himself ready for going out anyway.  
  
As it turned out, it took another half an hour before Levi finally rose from the computer. Erwin had sunk into a squishy armchair while he waited, slowly drumming his fingers on the arm. It wasn't like Levi at all to look the way he did; his hair was sticking up in every direction, his t-shirt was creased and bore the remnants of the tomato pasta he'd had for lunch, and his eyes looked red and bloodshot. His appearance worried Erwin more than anything else, having never seen Levi with a hair out of place outside of the bedroom.  
  
It took another few minutes before Levi had made himself presentable, and Erwin felt relieved to finally get out of the house and into the fresh air. Even Levi started to look bright eyed and refreshed. After deciding it was too late to go very far, they walked hand in hand to a small local restaurant which was situated a short way from their home. The restaurant was a cozy, quaint little place with a quiet and relaxing atmosphere.  
  
They enjoyed a good meal together, chatting about their summer holiday plans and Erwin's work. They spent more than an hour in the restaurant before deciding to take the long route home, enjoying a slow walk and the clear, warm evening. It was the first time in days that Erwin had seen Levi looking so relaxed.  
  
When they eventually arrived home Erwin noticed Levi's eyes glance towards the computer in the living room; he knew what he was thinking, he'd heard it several times these last few weeks - _Erwin, do you mind if I stay up a bit and play?_ No, he didn't mind if it made Levi happy, and even though he didn't do it every night, Erwin still felt a sense of sadness when he was denied the chance of holding him in his arms as he fell asleep at the end of the day.  
  
Levi was about to open his mouth to speak when Erwin took one large stride towards him and, grabbing him roughly by the hips, pulled him into an embrace, crushing their bodies together and catching him in a long, intense kiss. If Levi was surprised by Erwin's sudden assault he didn't show it, wrapping his arms around Erwin's neck and allowing himself to be pushed towards the bedroom.

 

* * *

 

It was still early when Erwin was awoken by the sound of rain; it thudded loudly against the window as if desperately trying to seek entry into the warm, dry house. He rolled over, extending his arm with the intention of wrapping it around Levi and nestling into his back. Instead, he found himself grasping at cold sheets. He opened his eyes blearily, the light from outside stinging even though the morning was dark and cloudy. Rolling over onto his back, Erwin grabbed his phone from the bedside table to check the time.

It wasn't unusual for him to find Levi already awake and dressed in the mornings long before he was; he always had difficulty sleeping through the night. Erwin would often find him sitting in the living room in the early hours of the morning watching nature documentaries on Netflix, but even then Levi had always ended up creeping back into bed and burrowing himself into Erwin's strong, warm body.  
  
Erwin rose lazily from the bed, yawning and stretching as he stood. He pulled on some underwear and slowly padded out of the bedroom in search of Levi. He found him where he thought he would be: in front of his computer, curled up with his knees under his chin and a blanket around his shoulders. He turned to look at Erwin as he plodded into the room.  
  
   "Why are you up so early?" He asked, his head slanting to one side the way it did when he was confused about something. Erwin, still squinting sleepily through one eye, bent down to kiss him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder as he did so.  
  
   "It's not that early, Levi, it's after seven," he answered. Levi turned to look out the window, as if startled to learn that it was already morning. Erwin crashed onto the couch, and before he knew it he was dozing off to sleep again.

 

* * *

 

When Erwin woke up the rain had slowed into a persistent drizzle. He found that a blanket had been draped over him and a steaming hot cup of coffee placed on the table. Levi, still hunched at his computer, was now dressed and his hair wet from the shower. He was furiously clicking the mouse with one hand whilst holding a cup of tea in the other.  
  
As Erwin sat on the couch drinking his coffee the worries he had over Levi's health began surfacing in his mind again. He watched Levi tutting and swearing at the computer, smashing the keyboard harder than necessary as he typed. Erwin promised himself that he would get Levi out of the house for a while today, although it wouldn't be an easy task to coax him into going out when the weather was this depressing, but Erwin couldn't stand the thought of another day of watching his husband getting himself in a state over a ridiculous game.  
  
With that on his mind, Erwin left Levi tutting at the computer while he went to get washed and dressed.

 

* * *

 

About half an hour later Erwin marched back into the living room, still buttoning his shirt as he advanced towards Levi. Leaning on the desk, he opened his mouth to suggest that they go see a movie when he suddenly caught sight of what looked like a hideously deformed version of himself on Levi's game. Stunned, he gazed at the caricature which had his exact same hairstyle, large eyebrows, blue eyes, and the name _ErwinSBig1_ hovering above it's head. It had oversized, gangling limbs; a bulbous nose; and a hunched back. This must be Levi's own character creation.  
  
   "Levi!" Erwin said, mouth hanging open. Levi looked at him out of the corner of his eye, his mouth curling slightly as he saw Erwin's wide eyes staring at his character, "Is that supposed to be me?"  
  
   "It does resemble you, doesn't it?" answered Levi. Erwin couldn't stop gaping at the ridiculous character on the screen; apart from a few distinguishing physical features it looked nothing like him.  
  
   "No! It's hideous." Erwin pouted.  
  
   "You should see Mike and Hange's characters, they're really good," he said. Erwin turned to look at Levi in shock.  
  
  "Mike and Hange play this game?" Erwin knew that Mike enjoyed playing video games, but he usually spent his time on his Xbox, whilst he didn't think Hange played anything except phone apps.  
  
   "Yeah. It's an online game so when you log in you're able to see each other's characters and play together," Levi was eyeing him, the corner of his lips still curled into a slight smile, "Why don't you play with me? I downloaded the game on your laptop last week when you made me wait for you whilst you were in that shitty meeting."  
  
   "You did what?" Said Erwin, raising his eyebrows.  
  
   "Look, it's easy, you just create your character and I'll help you collect armor and weapons. We can play together," said Levi, already grabbing Erwin's laptop from his bag which he'd left on the desk, "You can choose from three species when you create a character; a _Giant_ , like my character - they're the tallest species in the game; you can be a _Human_ who are average height; or a _Ratooth_ which are these shitty little rat creatures."  
  
Levi's enthusiasm stunned Erwin for a moment, but it dawned on him that he had found a hobby that he really enjoyed and that he was asking Erwin to share it with him.  
  
So he agreed to try it, even though it would likely end with Levi snapping at him for being so bad. Levi placed the laptop in front of him, leaning over and clicking a few times before stepping back and allowing Erwin to take control.  
  
   "Levi, I-" Erwin began, still unsure if he would be any good at this.  
  
   "Just press _Create A Character_ there," he pointed. "Now choose your species and customize it, oh and you'll have to name your character too," continued Levi. Erwin gazed at the screen for a moment, half of him still wanting to ask Levi if he wanted to go out, the other half wanting to make him happy by joining in with his fun.  
  
   "Alright, can I name it anything?"  
  
   "Well, yeah, but most names are taken so you'll have to be creative. When you're done press _Complete_ and you'll see my character on your screen waiting for you. I'll go make you some coffee while I wait," he said, planting a kiss on Erwin's cheek before scampering off into the kitchen.  
  
Erwin was still a bit stunned at what he had managed to get himself into, but after witnessing how eager Levi was to get him involved, he got to work making his _Ratooth_.  
  
As Levi had described, it was a small bipedal rat, however, Erwin's customizations had given it a squashed, flat snout; a grumpy face; long, floppy rabbit-like ears; and dark parted hair which looked as close to Levi's real hair as he could get. Erwin chuckled to himself as he gazed at it. Now for a name.  
  
_L-e-v-i_  
_Sorry this name is taken._  
  
_L-e-v-i-A_  
_Sorry this name is taken._  
  
Erwin tried several more names such as _LeviAS_ , _Ackerman_ , and _LeviASmith_ without any luck. Finally he settled for _MiniLevi160_.  
  
_Complete_.  
  
The game loaded for a few seconds before he found his character standing on the screen, gazing at Levi's hideous Giant.  
  
   "Erwin, what the fuck," said Levi, as he walked back into the room carrying Erwin's mug and glanced at his screen. Erwin was shaking with laughter at this point, whilst Levi stood frozen and staring at the strange bipedal rat-rabbit hybrid that he had created.  
  
Levi sat down in his chair with a scowl and spent the next hour or more teaching Erwin how to play. At one point Levi was getting dangerously impatient with him for repeatedly falling down a hole.  
  
   "Erwin, jump when I say, don't just randomly smash your jump button," said Levi, holding his head in his hands, "One, Two..."  
  
Erwin's tiny little Ratooth jumped across the hole successfully, whilst Levi's gangling Giant went tumbling in and died. Erwin tried not to laugh, but the sight of Levi desperately trying to conceal his seething face pushed him over the edge; laughter burst from him, shaking his entire body until he went limp with exhaustion.  
  
   "Sorry, Levi, your face-"  
  
   "Your shitty flopping ears distracted me," Levi retaliated.  
  
   "How do you think I feel? I keep falling because your huge bulk gets in my way!"  
  
   "Tch. That's what I have to put up with in real life."  
  
   "Levi!"  


* * *

  
  
The evening had crept in before they knew it. The desk was covered with used cups, plates, and cutlery. Erwin's Ratooth was now fully equipped with shiny armor and dual-wielding swords, slicing enemy Goblins down as if they were butter.  
  
   "It's gotten late," Erwin said, taking a gulp from a bottle of water. Levi glanced at the corner of his screen.  
  
   "Shit, yeah, I didn't know we'd been playing this long," he said. Erwin had to admit that he had enjoyed playing with Levi. They had both been having fun and teasing each other all day, and he felt glad that he had accepted Levi's offer of learning to play.  
  
   "What are Mike and Hange's characters called? I want to add them to my friends list," asked Erwin.  
  
   "Hange is called _HangeBabyYeah4_ and Mike is _TheZachMan69_."  
  
Erwin and Levi's eyes met, staring at each other silently for a few moments, but in complete understanding as to what the other was thinking.  
  
   "Levi..."  
  
   "Erwin..."  
  
   "What are we doing with our lives?"

 

* * *

 

Later that evening Erwin sat on the couch with Levi wrapped in his arms and nestling against his chest while they flicked through holiday brochures together.  
  
   "Erwin, let's do this every night," said Levi, tilting his head back against Erwin's chest.  
  
   "Alright," he answered, planting a kiss on his forehead. Levi gazed up at him, his eyes softening as they did whenever he was feeling affectionate. Erwin, stroking his dark hair gently, bowed his head towards him, leaning in for a kiss.  
  
   "Except when Hange and Mike are online because they promised they'd help me get a new greatsword," added Levi, quickly.  
  
Erwin stops just as their lips touch, uncontrollable laughter rippling through him.


End file.
